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Standard EM Artillery Sizes
Electromagnetically-propelled (EM) artillery has a number of advantages over conventional artillery. The first is the vastly increased shot-weight to gun-weight ratio available through eliminating propellant. Second is a simplified firing process; by eliminating propellant, the number of steps in loading and firing an artillery piece is reduced. Third is the much greater penetration due to high muzzle velocities found in EM weapons. Electromagnetic weapons break down, as do conventional chemical artillery, in a number of categories. Types of Fire Artillery weapons fire in three basic modes. The first and simplest is direct fire, where the gun is aimed directly at a target. Second is indirect fire, in which the target may be over the horizon; indirect fire as used here is meant to indicate fire along a relatively shallow arc from muzzle to target. The third, plunging fire, is a subset of indirect fire, in which the round strikes close to vertical on the target. EM weapons typically have much higher muzzle velocities than chemical-propellant weapons for the same weight of shot. Because of the difficulty of indirect-fire targeting on fast-moving targets such as vehicles, and the problems of adjusting EM-velocity projectiles in-flight, vehicles are typically targeted in direct fire and anti-personnel charges (incendiary, HE, fragmentation) charges used in indirect fire. Fortress destruction is one notable exception, where armor-penetrating rounds may be used. Mortars Mortars are characterized by a parabolic flight path and a near-vertical strike on target. They are conventionally available at battalion level, though heavy mortars may be pooled in separate mortar batteries. Mortars typically come in three sizes and require minimal EM charge to fire, because they fire over short ranges at sub-sonic velocities. Mortar damage, for simplicity's sake, is by warhead type; light and medium mortars use mini-missile warheads, while heavy mortars use short-range missile warheads. The following table is abstracted to account for a wide variety of makes and models; it is not meant to be exhaustive or minutely accurate. Field Guns Field guns are direct- or indirect-fire weapons, and can typically be mounted in a variety of chassis, from towed to tracked. Some have been mounted on aircraft with varying degrees of success. Field guns are distinguished from howitzers by fire arc - traditonally, field guns fire in flatter arcs, while howitzers, like mortars, are designed for plunging fire. For modern artillery, however, most of the time, the terms "field gun" and "howitzer" are interchangeable; the exceptions are anti-tank weapons or specifically direct-fire weapons, which are not meant to adjust for plunging fire. The term "field gun" refers in modern terms to how mobile the weapon is, rather than a fixed weapon. For ease of damage determination, calibers smaller than 150mm fire rounds equivalent to unguided medium-range missiles in damage. Cannon of 150mm and larger fire the equivalent of unguided long-range missile warheads. The following table is abstracted to account for a wide variety of makes and models; it is not meant to be exhaustive or minutely accurate. Larger guns than these exist; however, these artillery pieces are effectively fixed and cannot be used easily on the battlefield. Fixed and Naval Artillery Fixed artillery and naval artillery start at the eight-inch gun (204mm howitzer above) and get bigger from there. The best examples of heavy EM artillery are the main battery on the Joseph Prosek-class aviation cruisers, with ranges of up to 40 miles and the capacity to fire any weapon up to a 20-kilton nuclear warhead; conventional ammunition will punch through 30 feet of reinforced concrete or 30 inches of armor plate prior to exploding at ranges of up to 20 miles. In game terms, the range and damage of 16-inch naval cannon, whether chemical or EM, are "as needed by the GM" and "as needed by the GM." Rate of fire is roughly two per minute. Rumors persist that the NGR, Quebec, and the Coalition are in the process of developing a "Splugorth-killer," a battleship with main armament larger than the Prosek-class 16-inch gun.